Scans yesterday confirmed Hodkinson suffered a badly corked calf muscle when caught awkwardly in a tackle shortly before half time in Sunday's 27-16 loss to Manly at Brookvale Oval.

Coach Jim Dymock has named Hodkinson to play against the Knights, with treatment of his injury ongoing.

Hooker turned five eighth Joel Romelo will line up alongside Hodkinson for a second straight week, with Kris Keating named on the interchange bench, while Gary Warburton has retained the interchange spot he held against the Sea Eagles after Dene Halatau was injured in the team's final training session on Saturday.

David Stagg, who took Halatau's run on spot post-injury, has retained the 13 jersey for the clash with the Knights.

The beyondblue Cup aims to raise awareness of depression, anxiety and related drug and alcohol problems in the community, as well as to reduce the associated stigma of these conditions within the NRL community.

The Bulldogs and Knights first played off for the Cup in round one of the 2010 season, with the Knights emerging victorious on that occasion by 20-16.

Around one million Australian adults live with depression and more than two million have an anxiety disorder. By partnering with beyondblue, the Bulldogs aim to encourage people to talk about depression and anxiety and to seek help.

beyondblue volunteers will be at the gates at the game, as well as roaming the Stadium, handing out wristbands and beyondblue information.

A massive 16 by 12 metre beyondblue jersey will be carried onto the field before and after the game, as a strong visual reminder that depression and anxiety disorders cannot be ignored.

Lafai, who has played eight NRL matches as well as being a stand out for the Toyota Cup side this year, will go in for an operation on Thursday.

It gives Portlock, who joined the Bulldogs mid-season from Manly, the opportunity to lock down a spot in the starting side with the Toyota Cup finals just two weeks away.

The other new face in the side named is Moses Mbye, who announced his arrival at Toyota Cup level by scoring two tries inside the first 12 minutes of play against Manly after being elevated to the starting halfback's position by coach Andy Patmore in the lead up to the match.

After an indifferent six weeks, the Bulldogs have returned to form with a bang in their past two encounters, beating Cronulla 48-16 and Manly 52-0 to shore up sixth place on the Toyota Cup ladder.